Drainage pouch for post-surgical use



. Nov. 7, 1967 J. L. NOLAN 3,351,061

DRAINAGE POUCH FOR POST-SURGICAL USE Filed March 8, 1965 United States Patent 3,351,061 DRAINAGE PQUCH FUR POST SURGICAL USE John L. Nolan, Glenview, Iil., assignor to Hollister Incorporated, a corporation of Illinois Filed Mar. 8, 1965, Ser. No. 437,828 1 Claim. (Cl. 128-483) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A post-surgical drainage pouch having a backing member around a stoma opening in the pouch, the backing member being coated with a ring of quick adhering substance and a ring of a medicinal adherent substance.

This invention relates to surgical devices and more particularly to a post-surgical drainage pouch.

Certain abdominal surgery, such as a colostomy, ileostomy, uterostomy and the like, results in an opening in the abdominal wall which permits drainage from the internal organs of the patient. Often a portion of the internal organ, such as an intestine, protrudes through the opening in the wall. This protruding portion is usually referred to as the stoma. Post-surgical drainage pouches are provided and are attached to the body adjacent the stoma to receive the discharge since the patient cannot control drainage from the inner organs.

It is the primary object of this invention to provide an improved sealing structure for disposable surgical drainage pouches.

It is a more specific object of this invention to provide an improved disposable surgical drainage pouch having first and second sealing means formed on the backing ring, one of the sealing means being capable of rapid adhesion with the human skin, and the second sealing means being capable of adhesion to the human skin as well as having curative properties.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a new and improved disposable surgical drainage pouch having a backing member which is provided with a first adhesive ring for ready adhesion to the skin of a patient and a second healing ring for slowly adhering to the torso of the patient about the stoma and to form a seal therewith as Well as lending curative properties to the surgical area; and protective means provided on the backing ring for protecting both the first adhesive ring and the second healing ring from adhesion to each other and from contamination by foreign substances prior to use.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary view of the abdominal section of a human torso showing a post-surgical drainage pouch held in use thereon;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the surgical pouch shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged sectional View taken along the line 3-3 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary enlarged section view taken along the line 4-4 of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the back panel of the pouch showing the karaya ring and the adhesive outermost portion and the protective coverings therefor.

While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail an embodiment of the invention with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the 3,351,661 Patented Nov. 7, 1967 principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiment illustrated. The scope of the invention will be pointed out in the appended claim.

Referring now to the drawings, in FIGURE 1 there is shown a post-surgical drainage pouch or bag 10 secured to the human torso 12 by means of a belt 14. The bag is provided with a backing member 15. The bag is sealed to the torso with the aid of a medicinal sealing pad or gasket 16 of medicinal quality, such as karaya gum or the like. The medicinal sealing pad or gasket 16 is a semisolid gelatinous, flat, donut-shaped ring. The pad is formed of a mixture of a nonevaporative oleaginous liquid carrier and a healing powder miscible with the carrier which forms a gel when mixed in suflicient quantity with the carrier. In the preferred embodiment, karaya powder, a well-known healing powder, is mixed with glycerol. A suitable mixture of karaya and glycerol may be at least 33% karaya to 67% glycerol and as much as 50% karaya and as much as 50% glycerol. The more glycerol used, the softer or less solid the ring formed. With the addition of heat in the order of ZOO-300 F., the gel time is shortened.

The ring 16 is tapered in cross sectional thickness from its inner periphery 16a to its outer periphery 16b. It has been found that such a taper adds both to patient comfort and the sealing and curative powers of the karaya ring.

The drainage pouch is provided with front and back panels 18 and 19, respectively, which are heat sealed about the edges, such as at the top and bottom edges 20a and 20b, respectively, and the two side edges 20c and 20d, respectively, to form the closure. Preferably, the

pouch is made of a well-known sheet-like waterproof plastic material. The back panel is provided with a centrally disposed stoma opening 22 near the top thereof about which the backing member 15 is heat sealed and through which the stoma 23 is telescoped when the bag is in use.

The backing member 15 is made of a relatively stiff, waterproof, hard material, such as a suitable plastic, and is secured to the back panel of the pouch by suitable means, such as heat healing or the like. The backing member is similarly provided with a stoma opening 22a in registry with the bag stoma opening. Stoma opening 22a is provided with an inwardly projecting circular flange 22]; which is substantially concentric to the stoma and provides a smooth surface substantially parallel to the stoma so that irritation to the patient in this area is substantially eliminated.

In the drainage pouch of this invention, a first adhesive ring 23 as well as the second curative adhesive ring of karaya gum 16 are both secured to the backing member 15. Preferably the first ring 23 is coated with an adhesive which readily adheres to the human skin such as is commonly found in surgical tape or the like. The backing for the adhesive is preferably formed of a substantially waterproof plastic substance or the like such as is commonly available in certain surgical tapes. This first adhesive ring forms a concentric ring about the peripheral extent of the karaya ring. While it has been found that when the karaya ring is placed against a human torso that the heat of the torso combined with the relatively sticky properties of the karaya ring makes a good seal,

0 this border of first adhesive material 23 provides a quick initial securement of the pouch to the torso about the karaya ring to promote the improved seal of the karaya ring with the human torso.

Another feature of this invention is the protective covering afforded to the karaya ring as well as the adhesive ring 23. In some prior art pouches, the karaya ring was frequently left exposed to the air so that in time the outer most surface thereof might dry or otherwise deteriorate responsive to the atmosphere. With this invention, a covering is provided for the karaya ring which lightly adheres to the karaya sufficiently to protect the ring from atmosphere so as to maintain the ring in a ready state for use. The covering, however, does not adhere with such great force as to prevent its rapid and facile removal. It has been found that a polyethlene material similar to that used in making the bag panels 18 and 19 is most suitable for this purpose. However, it was discovered that the same material would adhere most tenaciously to the adhesive ring portion 23 which surrounds the karaya portion. Thus this invention provides a second protective coating 24 for the adhesive surface 23. Preferably this adhesive coating is in the form of a wax coated paper which again, lightly adheres to the portion 23 sufiiciently to protect it from adhesion to other elements but which permits the facile and rapid Withdrawal of the covering from the adhesive ring 23.

The backing member is provided with laterally projecting ears 26 .and 27 which are notched at either end, such as 28 and 36, respectively. Each notch 28 and 30 is provided with enlarged openings 28a and 30a, respectively, and reduced openings 28b and 30b, respectively. The belt 14 is looped about end fastening portions 32 and 34 which have smooth, flat, inner faces 32a and 34a, respectively, for positioning against the torso of the patient. The other face is provided with upstanding posts 36 and 38, respectively, which may be inserted through the enlarged openings in the ears and then moved laterally into the openings so that the reduced neck portions 36a and 38a are held in the reduced notched portions 28b and 30b, respectively, to fasten the belt to the pouch. Preferably the belt is made of a stretchable material to facilitate the securernent of the drainage pouch to the body.

The drainage pouch of this invention is provided with a backing member which has both an initial, quick, adhering surface in the form of the adhesive ring 23 and a secondary curative healing surface in the form of the karaya ring 16. Moreover the taper of the karaya ring lends to patient comfort. Finally, the adhesive ring and the karaya ring are both provided with protective coverings of such a nature as to keep the pouch in a condition where it is free from damage due to exposure to atmosphere and foreign elements which may destroy the adhesive properties of both as well as to cause the karaya ring or the adhesive ring to become unsanitary. It is to be understood that while this invention has been shown in use with a particular drainage pouch and belt apparatus, that the improvements may be used with other pouches and are not limited to the precise form of pouch as shown herein.

I claim:

A post-surgical pouch for receiving discharge from the stoma of a patient, comprising: an enclosed waterproof bag having an outer and inner wall with a stoma opening in said inner wall for receiving the stoma of a patient; a backing member on the inner wall of said pouch about said stoma opening; a first ring of adhesive coated material on said backing member about said opening, said first ring having an adhesive thereon which adheres rapidly to the hum-an skin; a second ring of medicinal adhesive material secured to said backing member about said opening and spaced concentrically inwardly from said first ring; and a first protective covering means of one material provided for said medicinal ring and a second protective covering means of another material provided for said adhesive ring.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,524,750 10/1950 Bellinger 128-283 3,039,464 6/ 1962 Galindo 128283 3,081,771 3/1963 Lee 128283 3,100,488 8/1963 Orowan 128-283 3,302,647 2/1967 Marsan 128283 RICHARD A. GAUDET, Primary Examiner.

CHARLES F. ROSENBAUM, Examiner. 

